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Asia Foundation President David D. Arnold joined Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the presidential palace in Kabul last week to discuss the Foundation’s programs in Afghanistan. President Ghani praised the Foundation’s annual Survey of the Afghan People for its instrumental role with policymakers. They were joined by the Foundation’s Country Representative Abdullah Ahmadzai and Senior Vice President of Programs Gordon Hein. In separate meetings, Mr. Arnold and Mr. Ahmadzai met with Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah, who discussed the importance of the new Electoral Reform Commission. Read more.

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From Bangladesh: Enhancing the Role of Religious Leaders in Development

Bangladeshi society confers stature and respect on individuals whose contributions to community life reflect special knowledge and personal integrity. As leaders of influence, Muslim religious leaders, or imams, are well placed to contribute to national development efforts. They understand local community needs and can communicate citizen interests to development professionals, while also using their weekly sermons and other outreach to provide information on development initiatives and opportunities to community members. Through the Foundation’s Leaders Outreach Initiative program, more than 5,000 imams from across the country studied community development initiatives in education, public health, agriculture, fisheries, environmental conservation, human rights, prevention of trafficking in persons, and enterprise development. Participating imams share the knowledge acquired with members of their communities, harness this experience for their own development efforts, and have established collaborative working relations with secular civil society organizations with which they previously had little contact.